


Ava Stark-Rogers

by Stonyinspirationwriter



Series: The Ava Stark-Rogers Series [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers Family, Domestic Fluff, First Time Parents, M/M, New Parents, Original Character(s), Parent Steve Rogers, Parent Tony Stark, Stony - Freeform, Superhusbands, Superhusbands (Marvel), Surrogacy, domestic tony and steve, steve and tony married
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-01
Updated: 2015-07-01
Packaged: 2018-04-07 02:41:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4246392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stonyinspirationwriter/pseuds/Stonyinspirationwriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve Stark-Rogers has smoothly transitioned from his role as Captain America into his role as a parent. Watching his new baby girl, he reflects on his original reluctance the first time Tony brought up the idea of fatherhood, and how being a parent has significantly altered his perception.</p><p>The first piece of a series of shorts involving Steve Rogers and Tony Stark with a daughter. Will hopefully lead up to a longer story that involves her transition into becoming the Iron Woman. (Series can be read in any order)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ava Stark-Rogers

**Author's Note:**

> Any feedback or suggestions would be extremely helpful to the series, as well as the characters development. I'd love to bounce around ideas with you.

The figures of stars and a moon turn in a slow circular motion above the crib, playing a soft lullaby. The cribs garnished in lace and white fabric, with pillows etched with pink ribbons. A veil drapes either side; slightly pulled to reveal the baby girl sleeping soundly.

Steve Stark-Rogers stands before the crib, completely entranced by the tiny human being. He’s not sure how long he’s been standing there but the first rays of sunlight are beginning to penetrate the window. He gently strokes the baby’s cheek with his pinky finger before adjusting the veil to protect her from the invasive sunlight.

Her name is Ava Stark-Rogers and she is the daughter of Steve Rogers and Tony Stark. To the world they’re Captain America and Iron Man—earth’s protectors and two of the greatest heroes that ever lived—but to Ava, they’ll simply be Papa and Daddy.

Ava hadn’t been alive even a year and Steve already couldn’t remember a time without her. She’s the light of his life. She’s the very reason his heart beats. She’s everything good in the world.

It wasn’t until the day that he first held her in his arms that he had discovered the true purpose of his existence. It hadn’t been to become Captain America, or an Avenger, but to become a father. The reason he had woken up 70 years in the future and had fallen in love with Tony. The reason he had survived the unthinkable even when death had appeared so certain. Steve Rogers had been born to be a father. To be Ava’s Papa.

“You know, sleeping in her own room is supposed to improve our sleep.” Tony says, leaning against the door frame in nothing but stripped blue boxers and Steve’s military dog tags. “Jarvis is monitoring her breathing. He’ll alert us of any irregularity, so you don’t have to worry. She’s safe.”

“I just needed to see it with my own eyes”, Steve admits.

Tony nods. “Yeah, I didn’t sleep either”, he says, rubbing his sleep deprived eyes. “Whoever said that we would, has obviously never had a baby.”

Tony then wrapped his arms around him from behind, pressing his lips to the curve of his spine. Steve closed his eyes for a moment, savoring the feel of his husband’s touch, simply basking in it all: the warmth of the sun coming from the window, the feel of Tony’s arms, and the view of their baby girl sleeping in her own room.

“She’s doing better than we are”, Steve said. “First time she’s slept through the night since we brought her home.”

They had been slowly preparing Ava to sleeping in a crib, rather than her usual bassinet beside their bed, and tonight had been the first time she not only slept the whole night in her crib, but also in her own room. As much as they loved having her by their side, they knew it had been time to reclaim their bedroom.

The two men had been silent for a while when Tony once again spoke.

“Damn, Steve”, Tony murmured into his shoulder, “That’s spectacular. I can’t get over how great you are.”

Steve followed his husbands gaze. He was staring at the mural that Steve had painted for Ava on her bedroom walls. He had mixed various shades of pink, orange, yellow, and blue in order to perfectly mimic the colors that made up a sunrise. Fluffy, sun-rimmed clouds danced with the beginnings of daylight among an array of color.

Peeking through the clouds, the numerous faces of loved ones and former teammates can be seen. Among the most prominent of faces at the center of it all are the faces of those from the original team: Bruce with his shy, unassuming smile and his glasses balanced near the tip of his nose; Natasha’s red hair flowing around her head and a wide smile on her face that reached her eyes. A rare smile that she didn’t use often and not many people got to see ; Clint raising his eyebrow in that cocky way of his. His lips pursed in a failed attempt to conceal his playful grin;Thor in the middle of one of his boisterous laughs. The kind of laugh that seemed to erupt from deep within and shook his large frame. ; Tony’s eyes gleaning with content and a secretive smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. His eyes were averted towards the ground and his head slightly dipped as if to depict that his happiness was a private affair he didn’t plan on sharing with the outside world. Steve had omitted himself from the painting.

These people would always be his family. Dead or alive, past or present, they each hold, or have held a significant place in Steve's life. Each person a significant piece of who he was and who he is.

The painting was a symbol of Steve’s unwavering love for his daughter. The sky colorful and bright as though to indicate the marvelous future that Ava had ahead of her. He had painted it in the hopes that it would bring her peace and comfort as she made the slow and painful transition into adulthood. That every time Ava felt afraid or sad, she could simply look up and see the faces of those that love her and would watch out for her whether from this life or the next.

Ava cooed, averting her parents attention back to her. She looked up at them with large brown eyes that exactly resembled Tony’s. She began to fuss with the blanket, making irritated little sounds that threatened to give way to crying.

“Alright, alright”, Tony said, scooping her up in his arms. “Are you ready to get up, amore?” Ava smiled, reaching up to touch his beard. And in that moment, that smile that Steve had depicted in the painting once again appeared. Steve couldn’t help but marvel at the amount of love emanating from Tony.

“Okay, Daddy will give you your breakfast”, Tony continued in that soft, childish tone he used whenever addressing Ava. “Coming, Papa?” He called out to Steve as they began to make their way downstairs.

“Always.” Steve said, a smile on his lips.

**************************************************************

One would assume that nothing could possibly be more difficult than waking up 70 years in the future after being frozen and losing everything and everyone you knew; but for Steve Rogers, that hadn’t been the case. Much more difficult than adjusting to the 21st century and more frightening than fighting aliens, was the realization that he was in love with Tony Stark. For the first time in his life, Steve had truly lost himself. Growing up in a conservative time, homosexuality was a concept everyone seemed to know of, but refused to truly acknowledge. It was a dark and filthy secret that was to be buried so deep that it would never have the opportunity to reach the light of day. Considered such a heinous act, that Steve knew a young man that had preferred to take his life rather than be exposed. It was a fate worse than death.

All things considered, Steve hadn’t dared to even remotely entertain such thoughts. Besides, he had nothing to worry about, he had only been attracted to women—his love affair with Peggy Carter had only been confirmation of that. Perhaps that’s the reason he had immediately despised Tony Stark—not just because of the man’s arrogance or thoughtless nature—but maybe the real problem had been that instant, fleeting attraction Steve had felt for the other man. But it had been something Steve had been able to displace as disorientation from newly waking up in the future. As the years progressed, though, and Steve and Tony’s friendship had grown, that attraction had become explicitly undeniable. In the end Steve—as well as an equally hesitant and frightened Tony—had decided that being together was worth putting everything else at risk.

If not for taking such a monumental leap of faith, Steve would have never married his soul-mate. Perhaps this was what had prompted him to finally agree to the decision of becoming a father when he himself had once sworn to never be apart of raising a child in such a destructive world. But such as many other things in his life, that had changed.

Early on in their relationship, Steve had accepted that the life he had once envisioned for himself no longer existed., and he had no problem whatsoever of letting it go. He loved Tony—he would spend a lifetime of happiness just at his side. As dysfunctional and abnormal as their relationship was, it was still something that Steve wouldn’t trade for the world.

Tony’s marriage proposal had come as a bit of a shock—Steve had never expected Tony to marry him. He knew where he stood on his view of marriage. Tony was full of surprises, and as it turned out, he had a few other surprises in store.

“A surrogate?” Steve exclaimed, flipping through the pamphlet Tony had pushed across the table.

“What do you think?” Tony said, staring intently at Steve as he sipped his coffee.

“Um”…”Well, that sure wasn’t around in the 40’s.”

“Neither was AC/DC. Those were some dark times.”

Steve lowered the pamphlet to study his husbands expression—It was unreadable, a perfectly contrived poker face.

They had briefly talked about children a few times, but the conclusion had always been that it hadn’t seemed right for the kind of life they lived. A life wrought with danger and uncertainty. There was no place for a child in their world.

“Why now?” Steve asked, tilting his head in suspicion. “Everything all right?”

“Don’t tell me you’ve never once entertained the thought of having a little you running around the place.”

“I use to…but things change.”

“What changed?” Tony said, his eyes full of intensity.

“It’s nothing to do with you, Tony, you know that.”

“Then..?”

“Because—“ Steve paused. The truth was that he was afraid. He was afraid of having one more thing to love. That was one more thing that could easily be taken away. He rubbed his hand across his face and exhaled loudly. This was a fear that had been brewing in his mind for sometime, and he was hesitant to finally voice it. Tony stared expectantly.

“What about you?” Steve demanded, deflecting the question. “What you said about Howard—”

“You’re avoiding my question.”

Steve clenched his jaw. He wasn’t getting out of this.

“Because….because of the very same reasons you and I have trouble sleeping at night. Steve said, looking down at his hands. Tony stayed quiet, silently prompting him to continue. “We've seen things—awful things. The kind of things nightmares are made of. Why would you want to bring an innocent child into a world full of death, and pain, and suffering? Why would anyone?”

A few moments of silence passed and Steve couldn't help but to look up. Tony was still staring at Steve, his eyes full of sympathy.

He nodded. “Okay”, he said.

“Okay, what?” Steve asked, puzzled by his husband’s response.

“I agree with you.”

“You agree with me?”

“Yup.”

“Then why the mention of a surrogate?”

“I’m not quite sure..” Tony contemplated. “I guess, I mean…” He looked down at his cup, sliding the cup on the tap from one hand to the other. “I saw you holding that baby the other day at the company party—Mr.and Mrs. Elias’s baby—and you had this look in your eye. This look of utter joy.” He smiled at the memory. “ And you held it like it was the most natural thing in the world. As though it were something you did on a daily basis. I loved watching you. The world could have been going to hell and I wouldn't have noticed because all I would see was you holding that baby. And in that moment I thought that maybe, just maybe, that this wasn't something I could screw up if I had you by my side.”

Steve turned his husbands words around in his head. He was caught off guard and his mind was a muddled mess.

Steve had always loved children. Had wanted his own one day. A boy. Maybe a little girl. Maybe both.

“What about SHIELD , Steve asked. The Avengers…?”

“I’m getting older, Steve”, Tony admitted. “Things aren't as easy as they use to be, even with the suit. I can still build, I can still help out without directly being on the field. “

For as long as he remembered, all Steve had ever wanted to be was a soldier. A soldier that helped out directly on the battlefield. He wanted to protect the country he loved. The very country his parents had also served and fought for. Would he ever be able to stop?

“Wow. Sounds like you've put a lot of thought into this.”

“We don’t have to do this now, or ever, really.” Tony placed his hand on Steve’s fist. He had been unknowingly rapping his knuckles against the table top. “Hey, I’m the one that’s supposed to overreact. I have the freak outs, remember?” Tony said, smiling.

A child with Tony’s eyes…There were now so many possibilities.

“A baby, huh?” Steve asked, entwining his fingers in his husbands. “Well, if we do decide to…then I hope it has your heart. But for the love of God, please let it have a shred of sanity!”

“No chance, it’ll be your kid. And you did marry me, after all.” Tony grinned.

Steve had been adamant that Tony use his sperm. The effects of the Super Soldier Serum were unknown on infants or expectant mothers. Steve wouldn’t take that chance with their child. They used a donor’s egg and hired a surrogate to carry the baby.

Back in Steve’s time, Ava’s conception would have been impossible, and this only added onto his belief that she was truly a miracle child. She had one wonderful life ahead of her—she just had two crazy dads along for the ride.

**Author's Note:**

> For more on Ava's story: http://avastarkrogers.tumblr.com/meetava
> 
> The official Ava Stark-Rogers tumblr: http://avastarkrogers.tumblr.com/


End file.
